Wednesday, February 20, 2008

WNCC women defeat NJC by 38, 87-49

Western Nebraska Community College’s Dana Iverson nailed two 3-pointers at the end of the first half was the momentum the Cougars needed in their contest against Northeastern Junior College Wednesday night.

Iverson’s two treys, closed out the first half and then the Cougars outscored the NJC 53-25 in the second half to breeze to an 87-49 win Wednesday night at Cougar Palace.

Iverson said this game is an indication of how this team should be playing night in and night out.

“I think we executed real well tonight,” Iverson, who finished with 14 points and 3-pointers, said. “We rebounded and we got back on defense. But, there are still a lot of things that we can still work on. How we play really reflects on how we practice during the week.”

Wednesday’s win was definitely a marked change in how the Cougars played last they faced NJC back in January. That night, the Plainswomen turned the trick on the Cougars, winning 79-61, Wednesday, it was all WNCC the last 25 minutes of the game.

Iverson said it is not a surprise that they won by 38 points over the 23-6 Plainswomen.

“They are a great team, but we just didn’t come to play last time we played them,” she said. “Tonight we just played how we knew we could play.”

Early in the game, it was a dogfight between the two Region IX foes. The teams were tied at 15 early on a Britney Creamer bucket. After that, the Cougars took over the game as Tawny Drexler converted on back-to-back buckets.

Seconds later, Alison Cheney and Emma Beddome each cashed in on buckets to put the Cougars up 23-16. After an NJC timeout, Guernsey-Sunrise’s Sara Conner knocked home a 3-pointer with 3:10 to play in the half.

WNCC came back and stretched the lead to 26-19 with 1:38 to play and seemed to be in control. But, the Plainswomen fought back on a trey by Kristy Henderson and a bucket by Saundra Procter to cut the deficit to two points, 26-24.

The Cougars then went on a 6-0 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Iverson, to take a 34-24 lead into the locker room.

“That run gave all the momentum to come out even stronger in the second half,” Iverson, who had nine points at halftime, said. “That helped us out a lot.”

The Cougars definitely did carry Iverson’s offensive momentum into the second half as they built a 43-26 lead on a Beddome 3-pointer and then increased the lead to 20 points on a Chelsea Lyles bucket with 15:05 to play.

After that NJC never could mount any kind of a rally as the Cougars were hitting on all cylinders on both ends of the court.

All 12 Cougars put their name in the scorebook as our players finished with double figures. Beddome led the charge with 15 points and five rebounds. Iverson and Cheney finished with 14 points each, followed by Shaquilah Davis with 10 points.

Kristen Forbes led the Plainswomen with 12 points. Guernsey-Sunrise’s Conner finished with six points before fouling out with 7:58 to play in the game.

The Cougars also out-rebounded the Plainswomen 60-46 and also generated 13 steals. Davis had led with four steals, while Beddome and Tawny Drexler each had five rebounds.

Iverson said that this game was definitely better then the last time they stepped on the floor Saturday when they beat Northeast Nebraska 56-54.

“We just need to have a good week of practice and keep working on our stuff,” she said. “If everyone can score and everyone plays defense, then we don’t worry about who scores the most, we just all come out hard and play good.”

The Cougars will finish out the home season on Saturday when they host Otero Junior College in a 1 p.m. contest. Iverson said that game will be emotional, but each game from here on out is important.

“I am excited for Saturday’s game for all the sophomores and freshmen. It is just another big game and every game from now on out is a big game,” she said. “From now on out is do or die. We have to go.”

Northeastern (23-6) 24 25 – 49
WNCC (24-4) 34 53 – 87
NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
Candace Ewert 3, Sarah Conner 6, Shorty Ramos 5, Britney Creamer 2, Kristen Forbes 9, Kristy Henderson 9, Jessica Priest 2, Taija Bennet 4, Saundra Proctor 6.
WESTERN NEBRASKA
Cheri Palmer 5, Dana Iverson 14, Emma Beddome 15, Michelle Lighthall 2, SeLina Ysac 4, Shaquilah Davis 10, Alison Cheney 14, Tawny Drexler 9, Jenna Colwell 4, Eli Cosme-Gonzalez 2, Chelsea Lyles 6, Carly Glisan 2.

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